Local Family Had the Identity of their Deceased Child Stolen

Last year was a tough one for the Winstanley family. In April, their 7-year-old daughter, Laura Gwen, passed away after a lifelong struggle with health issues. 

“She was born 12 weeks early, and weighed a mere 1 lb. 13 oz. She spent over 5 months in the hospital before she was able to come home. When she came home she still had many health issues,” Melanie Winstanley said. “At the age of 2, she was diagnosed with mitochondrial disease. She was not able to walk or talk, but she had a smile that would light up a room and was a bright little girl with an incredible sense of humor. In addition to her physical limitations, she had a lot of health issues and spent a lot of time at doctors, hospital offices, and therapy.  She never complained and had a wonderful spirit. In April of last year, her disease finally overcame her. We miss her like crazy, and know that she touched the hearts of so many.”

Pastor Ben Cathey of the Orchard Church, where Winstanley serves as a children’s pastor, dedicated his Easter blog to the little girl whose funeral he had to perform.

But now, a year later, while the family is still coming to terms with the loss of a child, they will have to prove to the IRS that Laura was indeed their daughter.  

“When I went ahead and did our taxes, someone had already claimed Laura on their taxes,” Winstanley said, adding that she has found that the same thing has happened to two of her friends who also lost children last year. “Really! As if it’s not bad enough having your child pass away, you then have to jump through hoops proving that it is your child.”   

Winstanley said that after talking with a CPA, they will have to file their taxes by paper and include a letter saying that their efile was rejected due to someone else claiming their daughter – and that Laura was, in fact, their child.

“At some point, the IRS will investigate the issue to determine who is correct and at that time we will probably have to provide proof that she is our daughter,” Winstanley said.

In a Blog, Equifax warns of this very scam that is affecting more and more grieving parents.

“A thief can even look up the names and Social Security numbers of recently deceased children in the Social Security Death Master File. The thief then can claim those children as dependents on his or her fraudulent tax returns. When the parent files a tax return claiming the child as a dependent in the year that the child died, he or she is unable to do so, piling injustice on top of grief,” Eve Becker wrote in the blog.

Becker advises anyone who encounters a situation like this to contact the IRS immediately in order for it to secure your tax account. You can do so by calling the IRS’s Identity Protection Specialized Unit toll-free at 1-800-908-4490 or visit irs.gov/identitytheft. You have to fill out the IRS Identity Theft Affidavit, Form 14039 in accordance with the instructions provided on the form. If you are not able to resolve the issue, or if you suffer a significant hardship, you can contact the IRS Taxpayer Advocate Service.

John and Melanie Winstanley found out someone had stolen their daughter's identity when they tried to file their taxes electronically and it was rejected. Equifax advises that if mail in you in your tax return and it is rejected for one of the following reasons, it is likely an indication your identity or your child's identity has been compromised.

• More than one tax return was filed in your name.
• Your children were already claimed as dependents on a different tax return.
• You have a balance due or a refund offset, or you have had collection actions taken against you for a year in which you did not file a tax return.
• You received wages from an employer for which you have not worked.